New Evacuation Orders and Alerts issued for Koocanusa area

Rapidly changing conditions on the Linklater fire overnight have led to a new Evacuation Order and Evacuation Alert issued around Koocanusa.

An Evacuation Order is now in effect for the Newgate / West Koocanusa area, including Newgate from Gold Bay south to the US Border. This includes Sunshine Houseboats, Sandy Shores and Madera Ranch Campgrounds.

This went into effect on Saturday, September 2nd at 10 pm. It replaces the Alert that was already in place for the Newgate / West Koocanusa area.

An Evacuation Alert is also now in effect for the east side of Lake Koocanusa in the Grasmere area. This covers the east side of the lake between the Elk River bridge crossing and the US Border. This includes:
– All property between the eastern shore of Lake Koocanusa and Highway 93 from the Elk River Bridge crossing south to the US Border.
– Roosville, Grasmere, Tobacco Plains Indian Band and recreational properties in Edwards and Loon Lakes.

The alert went into effect at 8:30 pm on Saturday, September 2nd.

This is due to the Linklater Creek fire growing to 130 hectares on the Canadian side of the border and 2,744 hectares in the United States. The RDEK says wind is carrying ash and needles from the fire quite a distance and the fire is exhibiting aggressive behaviour.